Biolex Therapeutics Completes $60 Million Series D Financing to Accelerate Development of Locteron® in Hepatitis C

Financing Led by Clarus Ventures

PITTSBORO, NC--(Marketwire - October 6, 2008) - Biolex Therapeutics, Inc. announced the
closing of a $60 million Series D financing led by Clarus Ventures, a
leading biotechnology investor, with OrbiMed Advisors participating as a
new investor. Existing investors participating in the financing included
Intersouth Partners, Quaker BioVentures, Johnson & Johnson Development
Corporation, Investor Growth Capital, Polaris Ventures, Mitsui & Company,
The Dow Chemical Company, JP Morgan Securities and the North Carolina
Economic Development Fund.

Biolex is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that uses its patented
LEX System(SM) to develop hard-to-make therapeutic proteins and to optimize
monoclonal antibodies. The Company's lead drug candidate is Locteron, a
controlled-release interferon alfa designed to improve patient care in the
treatment of hepatitis C through a more favorable side-effect profile and
dosing convenience compared to existing pegylated interferon products. It
is estimated that worldwide sales of interferon products for the treatment
of hepatitis C will exceed $5 billion by 2014.

"This financing is designed to prepare Locteron for Phase 3 development,
including the completion of ongoing and planned Phase 2 testing," said Mr.
Jan Turek, Biolex's Chief Executive Officer. "We are pleased to have firms
of the caliber of Clarus and OrbiMed join our existing group of
high-quality investors, an investment team that has been instrumental in
supporting and guiding the advancement of Biolex."

The Company also announced that Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., PhD., Managing
Director of Clarus Ventures, and Klaus Veitinger, M.D., Venture Partner
with OrbiMed Advisors, have joined Biolex's Board of Directors. Dr. Leiden
has more than 20 years of experience in the biomedical and pharmaceutical
sectors. Dr. Leiden was previously President and COO of Abbott
Laboratories, Pharmaceuticals Products Group, and a member of the Abbott
Board of Directors and the TAP Board of Directors. Previously, Dr.
Veitinger was a Member of the Executive Board of Schwarz Pharma AG and the
Chief Executive Officer of Schwarz Pharma Inc. where he was responsible for
the U.S. and Asia businesses.

"Clarus is pleased to lead the Series D investment in Biolex," said Dr.
Jeffrey Leiden of Clarus Ventures. "Locteron is a potential best-in-class
product in a large and growing market. A once-every-two-week interferon
alfa that is better tolerated would represent an important advance for
patients suffering from hepatitis C infection. The outstanding management
team at Biolex is well positioned to accelerate the clinical development of
Locteron over the next 18 months."

About Locteron

In contrast to Locteron's controlled-release mechanism, the currently
approved products, Pegasys® and PEG-Intron®, and the Albuferon®
product candidate currently under development each are immediate release
products that lack a controlled-release mechanism. Interferon alfa serves
as the foundation of current combination therapy for hepatitis C patients,
and all major hepatitis C drug candidates currently in clinical trials are
being studied in combination with interferon alfa.

Locteron combines BLX-883, a recombinant interferon alfa produced by Biolex
in its patented LEX System(SM), with PolyActive®, an advanced
controlled-release drug delivery technology developed by OctoPlus. Locteron
is configured to allow dosing
once-every-two-weeks, an improvement in patient convenience compared to
currently marketed pegylated interferon alfa products that require dosing
every week. More importantly, Locteron's
controlled-release mechanism results in the gradual release of interferon
alfa to patients over the duration of two weeks. This controlled-release
mechanism is designed to reduce the frequency, duration and severity of
side effects, including flu-like symptoms, commonly experienced by patients
treated with currently marketed pegylated interferons and with Albuferon.
Locteron is currently in Phase 2 clinical testing.

Locteron is an investigational therapeutic candidate and has not been
approved for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration or by
any international regulatory agency.

About Biolex Therapeutics

Biolex is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that uses its patented
LEX System(SM) to develop hard-to-make therapeutic proteins and to optimize
monoclonal antibodies. The LEX System is a novel technology that
genetically transforms the aquatic plant Lemna to enable the production of
biologic product candidates. The company's product candidates are designed
to provide superior efficacy/tolerability profiles and to address large,
proven pharmaceutical markets. Biolex's lead product candidate,
Locteron®, is in Phase 2 clinical testing for the treatment of chronic
hepatitis C. Biolex has also developed two other product candidates that
capitalize on the benefits of the LEX System which it is advancing toward
clinical trials: BLX-155, a direct-acting thrombolytic designed to dissolve
blood clots in patients; and BLX-301, an anti-CD20 antibody it is
optimizing for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma and other
diseases.

About Clarus Ventures

Clarus Ventures is a life sciences venture capital firm founded by a team
of accomplished investment professionals with extensive and complementary
industry backgrounds which have enabled them to establish a long history of
success in creating value. Their deep relationships with world thought
leaders and decision makers allow this team to identify unique investment
opportunities and shepherd them to maturity. Clarus augments its core
expertise of investing in biopharmaceuticals and medical technology
companies with the deep and diverse expertise of the team in research and
development, commercialization, business development and operations
management at the global level. Clarus is based in Cambridge, MA and San
Francisco, CA and presently manages over $1.2 billion across two
life-sciences dedicated funds.

About OrbiMed Advisors, LLC

OrbiMed is the world's largest life sciences and healthcare-dedicated
investment firm, with approximately $5 billion in assets under management.
Since inception of its private equity investment activities in 1993,
OrbiMed has successfully invested in close to 100 companies across a wide
range of therapeutic categories and stages of development. OrbiMed's
investment team includes approximately 30 experienced professionals with
backgrounds in science, medicine, industry, finance and law. OrbiMed's
professionals work together using a collaborative, team-oriented approach
to support our portfolio companies, which has earned OrbiMed a reputation
as a capital provider of choice for life sciences companies of all stages.
OrbiMed has established the first pan-Asia life sciences-dedicated venture
capital fund and has opened offices in Shanghai and Mumbai. For more
information, visit www.OrbiMed.com.